Wolf It Down
So we are bringing a German Street Food restaurant to Ottawa, serving Berlin doners, but there are still a lot of questions that need answering. What’s the name? Where? When? Is dinner ready yet? Alright, alright. Time to dig into the details.
Let’s start with what to call it. Finding the right name is harder than it sounds. I spent months brainstorming without coming up with anything even semi-interesting. I didn’t want to go the typical route; no Doner Kings or German words none of us can pronounce. I wanted something more unique — a catchy name we can build a brand around. I had nothing. To be honest, I was starting to feel pretty defeated.
Then one night, I was in Santa Fe tossing and turning unable to sleep because I was in my head, still trying to come up with a name. For some reason I started thinking about synonyms for ‘devour’. All of a sudden I recalled a saying my parents used to tell me all the time when I was growing up: “Wow, you wolfed that down”. Thank god I was a hungry child.
Wolf down. It was perfect. I ran it by a few people to double check. They all loved it. Honestly, one of the best parts is when people first hear it, it often takes a couple of seconds to clue-in to the reference, then it’s like ‘Oh!! I get it!”. Yes, that’s fun for me.
Now for the location. We wanted somewhere central, close to the downtown core. And we wanted a space with lots of character, cause design is super important to us. We had pretty strict and specific criteria. Plus, I’m picky as hell. Needless to say, I was well aware that it would likely take quite a bit of time to find what we were looking for — if it even existed. Knowing this I figured I might as well connect with a real estate agent early so they could start keeping an eye out. I expected and was prepared for this to take months.
The next day I get a call: “I’ve got a space for you”. Ya, right. I reiterated that we didn’t want to waste anyone’s time if this spot didn’t meet our criteria then don’t bother. She assured me I had to see this. I was skeptical, but I went.
I walked in and couldn’t believe my eyes: gorgeous high ceilings surrounded by exposed brick walls — it had more character than almost anything I’ve seen in Ottawa. It wasn’t a restaurant though. That wouldn’t stop us. In fact, it meant we had a clean slate to build the kitchen exactly as we wanted it. I knew immediately. This was it. The funny thing was it all happened so fast, we weren’t actually prepared yet. All of a sudden it was like “Shit! I better get this thing incorporated.” So I did. All good. Move fast, break things.
380 Bank St. This will be our first den. It used to be the Herb & Spice supplement shop, right across from their grocery store. They decided to consolidate their spaces, so this spot became available — just in time for us! We are currently under construction which has been a fun, new and exciting (and stressful) experience. I’ve gotten so much inspiration from the places I’ve eaten at in LA and Vegas, which I studied closely to help us recreate a similarly awesome space over here in Ottawa. With our own spin of course.
Quick-serve. Wolf down will be what we call quick-serve or fast casual. Primarily designed for takeout and delivery, we will also have some seating available for anyone that might like to hang around and eat-in. We will also offer catering for anyone looking to be the office hero or to host a doner party.
May 2019. That’s what we’re gunning for. Early May if all goes to plan. Stay tuned for exact launch dates and other fun stuff we will be announcing over the next couple months. I recommend following us on Facebook or Instagram to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
Yes, we are hiring. But again, I’m picky. We are looking for people who love food and crave the experience of working in a restaurant that operates more like a tech startup — after all, that’s my background and we are backed by the Shopify founders. I know it’s notoriously difficult to find good workers in the food industry, but we’re different: I don’t expect you to give a shit about our business if you don’t even understand the business. So, we show you. If you dream of running your own restaurant, this is for you. If you want to learn how to operate a quick-serve restaurant, come learn with us. Help build Wolf Down from the ground up and maybe you run your own location one day. Maybe in another city. Maybe soon. Join the pack from Day 1 and let’s see how far you can go. Oh, and I happen to understand the best people cost more — so we pay more. Basic economics.
Email me to apply: jo@wolfdown.com
